According to the movie’s new poster, Thomas Newman is scoring the upcoming biopic The Iron Lady. We have previously reported a couple of months ago that In Contention announced that Clint Mansell is writing the music for the drama. No word on whether he has written or recorded any material for the project. The Iron Lady directed by Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia!) stars Meryl Streep as former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. The movie follows her career, which saw her smash through barriers of gender and class in order to be heard in a male-dominated world. Jim Broadbent is co-starring in the Abi Morgan-scripted picture. The Iron Lady is set to be released on December 16, 2011 by The Weinstein Company. For updates on the film, visit the official British movie website.

Newman appears to having his busiest year in a long time with four new movies being released in 2011. Currently playing in theaters are the hit drama The Help and the thriller The Debt. The composer has also recently finished scoring the comedy The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel starring Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel and Tom Wilkinson. The movie directed by John Madden (Shakespeare in Love, The Debt) follows a group of British retirees who decide to “outsource” their retirement to less expensive and seemingly exotic India. Fox Searchlight has recently announced that the movie will be released on March 9 , 2012. Check out the trailer below and visit the official movie website for updates on the comedy.

It would have been a tad bit more interesting if the same Mamma Mia director decided to make a musical and perhaps a Broadway Play about The Iron Lady instead. Streep could have played the Great White Way as well as the London stage.